


Combination of the Opposites

by Melinaa



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, Lawlight Week, Lawlight Week 2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melinaa/pseuds/Melinaa
Summary: He shrugged. "Opposites attract."L had always been aware that it were opposites that the world consisted of but the saying had always confused him. Watari had tried to explain it to him for several hours when he was younger but it never really got to him.But, well, when he looked back he realized his and Light's relationship had always been quite... opposing.
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. First Friend/Rival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GhostOfTasslehoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostOfTasslehoff/gifts), [ZombieJesus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombieJesus/gifts).



> So, this is my entry for Lawlight Week 2020 on Tumblr :) my special thanks goes to ghostoftasslehoff (here on AO3 and Tumblr) who I've been texting with for a little while and whose (and their friends) fanfic "Koi no yokan" got me into Death Note fanfiction and inspired me to take part in this challenge! That's why this collection of (hopefully not so bad) halfway connected one shots is for you :)  
> I've never written anything about Death Note, so please forgive me if the characters are not IC. I'm trying my very best.  
> I also tried combining all the one-word-prompts that were given. Hence the title. Let's see how this will go :) Also, all the chapters play in the same alternative universe :)

“You’re such a freak!”

“Why can’t you sit normally?”

“What kind of name is that?!”

“Freak!”

“Look at this, guys, he’s still sucking at his thumb like a baby!”

“Give me your chocolate, fatty!”

“Hey, posh boy! Give me your money!”

“Freaky freak!”

“Hey, one-letter-idiot! Too stupid to spell a name longer than that, hm??”

“Hey freak! Can’t even tie a tie properly!”

“Beat him!”

“Freak!”

“Come on, read that Japanese word out for me! Oh, wait, you can’t!”

“Freak!”

“Idiot!”

“Dumb!”

“Freak!”

_Why was it again that Watari had deemed it a good idea to enrol me into a Japanese school with dozens of ordinary kids? Oh yes, because England isn’t safe anymore, and Watari had thought that my social skills could be damaged even more if I stayed isolated from children my age any longer than I already had. But I had done just fine! I had done so fine learning on my own, learning what I was interested in. No one had been mocking me for his odd behaviours. I know I’m odd. I like to sit differently, to dress differently, to eat differently. Why can’t Watari and Roger continue to teach me like they had all the time? I have never even liked children of my age, not even when my parents had still been... I have done so fine on my own! The only thing I’m still struggling with a bit is the Japanese alphabet. There are just… so many letters. Signs._

He liked learning new things and was quick at it, too, but he was allowed to struggle. Or so he had thought. 

L pressed himself deeper into the corner in the classroom and winced when his bruised skin touched the wall. The fabric of the too-big school uniform violated his skin and irritated L immensely, even more than the bruises ever could. He was chewing on his thumb nail frantically trying to think of a way out of this situation, but he had accepted long ago that it was the best to just remain unresponsive. People liked violence. It must feel good to them, to have the absolute power over someone else, L figured. He couldn’t explain it any differently to himself. He had asked Watari about it once and he had said the same. He had also said that if you removed the satisfaction, the act of violence becomes hollow.

L trusted Watari. He had tried this but the kids wouldn’t stop mocking him, beating him, calling him names, just because he was a bit different.

He was an odd duck, his mother had said, with a smile on her lips.

Yet the equation didn’t add up. The kids didn’t stop bullying the odd duck.

But today, a new factor was added.

“Hey! Leave him alone!”

L winced more violently than before when a high-pitched voice interrupted the constant chattering in his head to which he had reduced the insults of the other children. At first, L thought it was a girl but when he looked up, he saw a young boy with light brown hair standing in front of his bully. He was a lot smaller than the bully whose name L didn’t bother to remember but his eyes were gleaming with something that made the bully shiver.

“Why are you defending this freak, Light?”

Light Yagami, L thought not without a ting of wonder. He was a bit younger than L himself and the other kids but still in the same class because he was so incredibly smart. Not just incredibly smart, but also incredibly famous amongst pupils and teachers equally. Why was he defending him?

“Because,” Light said so affirmatively that the bully took a step back, “what you are doing is cowardly. Bullying a boy that’s younger and smaller and obviously a lot smarter than you! Do you know what that means, to bully someone? It means you can go to jail for it. And do you know who my father is, bully? Do you?”

“Pah!” The bully took a step forward again but L could see from his spot that he was getting insecure. “Stop this, Light. We’re friends, you and I. Come, let’s just forget it.”

Light grinned. “No. We’re not friends. Now leave. Leave L and if I ever see you or any of you near him again,” he stopped the look each and every child into the eye, “I’ll make my dad and the police come for you and bring you justice. And to you,” he tapped the bully’s chest repeatedly, “I’ll make death come. So, don’t. Try. Me. Now, move!”

It took a few seconds in which everyone remained frozen, not daring to make a move before all of them suddenly scattered into different directions. Light huffed and turned around. L flinched and pressed himself tighter to the wall. The fabric of the school uniform scratched his skin even more. But Light didn’t do as much as offer him a hand. “I’m sorry, they are such idiots,” he said with a vice that was way to high for a boy but was making him sound a lot smarter than he already was.

L hesitantly took Light’s hand and let himself be helped to stand on his feet. Light’s eyes mustered him curiously before he frowned. “Your tie. Let me help you.”

L tried not to flinch when Light reached for him this time. Gentle fingers were moving just inches away from him, but L found that it wasn’t as bad as he had expected it. He watched in awe how quickly Light had produced a decent knot. “There. Looks a lot better now. I can teach you if you want.”

“Why are you helping me?” L chewed on his thumb nail the second Light had pulled his hands away.

He tilted his head to look at L. “Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because you are Light Yagami. You’re popular and well-liked. Kids like you aren’t seen with kids like me.”

Light smiled. “And I thought the others are stupid.”

L flinched violently.

“Oh, sorry. I was joking. Irony.” He offered him another smile. “I don’t like injustice. And these kids are already stupid but now, they were just mean to you.”

L tried a smile. It felt odd, but he found that he rather liked it. “Oh. Thank you. For everything.”

Light laughed. “Don’t mention it. But can you tell me something? Is your name really just L?” His eyes were shining with curiosity at that unlike the other children’s eyes when they asked this question. He sounded honest, not mean.

L nodded, then shrugged. “I don’t remember. My parents were killed when I was young, and the people who took me in call me that.” He didn’t really think about what he was saying, like always, but he winced now. Was that something you said when you first met someone? Probably not.

But Light seemed fine. “Oh. I’m sorry. I guess I’ll call you L then. But I guess you can also choose a nickname if you want!” 

Now it was L who tilted his head. “Don’t just friends call each other by their nicknames?”

“Oh.” Light looked to the ground. “I thought we were friends. I would like to be your friend.”

L’s eyes widened. “Oh. I… You’re my first friend in this world.”

Light smiled, and L smiled, and from this day on they were never seen apart from each other.

Years later, L graduated school when he was fourteen and went to university back in England. He and Light had always made plans to go to London to study there together but Light was forced to be stuck at school because his parents wanted it that way, and Light didn’t want to disappoint them.

It was only years later that they met again, Light now at the verge of graduating and prospective police officer like his father, L known as one of the greatest detectives in the entire world.

“What an interesting nickname you chose, L,” Light joked once L had filled him in on the details of the Kira case.

He eyed Light suspiciously. “It’s Ryuzaki here, Light-kun. Stay focused.”

“Of course, Ryuzaki. Forgive me.”

L didn’t like this formality that lay between them. It had never been like this, not one day of their friendship. They had been more like brothers to be honest. L had basically lived at Light’s house. He could remember one afternoon when his mother had given each of them a piece of chocolate cake (which Light had barely touched but sneakily given to L when his mother hadn’t looked), had ruffled L’s hair and said, “It’s like I’ve suddenly gained another son.”

He liked this formality even less than the fact he suspected Light to be Kira. Light, his very first friend then. His greatest rival now.

“You’re correct, Ryuzaki,” Light agreed when they returned to the others of the Kira force. “We have a job. Let us hunt down Kira.”

L nodded and watched Light for a long time. “Yes, let us hunt, Kira.”

That was what their once so close friendship had led to. Rivalry and, eventually and unavoidably, the death of one of them. 

L saw the irony now.

His first friend might be his murderer.


	2. Sweetness/Bitterness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would be describe as bittersweet?
> 
> The distinction between both was easy.
> 
> But what was bittersweet to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!   
> Not much to say today except thank you for all your nice comments! I'm going through a bit of a hard time right now and reading all your lovely comments really made my day :) I hope you're all doing well!

Bitter. Sweet.

Sweet. Bitter.

Bittersweet.

…

A funny word, really.

One wouldn’t take L for the type to actually think about words and their meaning given he was usually occupied by so much more important things. But he liked doing it to pass time. And he had to pass a lot of time. The video conference with INTERPOL was turning out to be even more boring than he thought it would be.

His thoughts had been occupied with the Kira case they were actually discussing but he had primarily thought about further traps to set up for Light while Watari had laid out all the information for INTERPOL. But Watari had taken longer (well, INTERPOL had taken longer to understand everything) than imagining setting up possible traps could L take so his mind had turned to other things.

Like the meaning of words.

What would be describe as bittersweet?

The distinction between both was easy.

_Bitter: Denatonium benzoate. Dark chocolate. Black tea brewed for too long. Waking up to an empty bed that had previously hosted a guest when he had fallen asleep. When Light turned away._

_Sweet: Chocolate. Tea. Sugar. Light’ smile. Strawberries. Cake glace. Light chuckling. Sweets. Light’s lips. Light’s skin. Light._

But what was bittersweet to him?

He reached for another piece of chocolate. It melted on his tongue and left a sweet taste. That was easy to describe. It irritated L that there were things he couldn’t describe or grasp. Watari had had his fair share of troubles with explaining stuff like this to L when he had been younger. Still had.

What would bittersweet even taste like?, L wondered as he threw a sugar cube into the air to catch it with his mouth. Watari gave him a glance that clearly stated not to do a thing like that. L kept chewing on sugar cubes and thinking until Watari had finished the meeting.

“L. Is there something wrong with you? You seemed… distracted.”

L blinked at him. “I was wondering something,” he said deliberately while another sugar cube was thrown into the air. Watari flinched at the crunching sound it made when L caught it. He knew that Watari didn’t like it when he ate raw sugar. “Could you make me some Black Tea, please? But keep the leaves in it.”

“Of… course.” Watari bowed slightly before he hurried off. L had obviously noticed the slight hesitation in the man’s voice but Watari was used to his strange wishes.

L kept sitting in the empty room juggling one sugar cube, then two, then three. By the time Watari came back, he was juggling nine sugar cubes.

“Your tea. I’ll be back with the others. When can I expect you back with us?”

“Soon,” L answered still juggling. He thought he might be able to let the sugar cubes fall down, one by one, in an angle that they would fall right into the cup. “Thank you, Watari.”

It took him a minute, but eight out of nine sugar cubes made it into the cup. The last landed in L’s mouth. He grinned, pleased at himself.

He waited for a little while longer before he touched the cup. He knew the exact amount of time he had to wait for the tea to be at the perfect temperature to drink.

He grimaced immediately once the cup’s content touched his lips. The tea tasted horrible, and no amount of sugar would ever be able to make it drinkable. L put it down and licked around his mouth like a dog to try and get rid of the atrocious taste.

 _That’s what bittersweet tastes like_ , he wondered like a child who had just discovered what broccoli tasted like.

When Light came to bed that night, and L kissed him, Light’s lips tasted exactly the same.


	3. Ghost(/Kami)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!   
> As you've seen, I'm trying to combine the prompts that are given everyday but I sadly didn't succeed with this.   
> I don't know if/when I will upload something tomorrow bc tomorrow will be quite the stressful day for me. But I'll try my best!   
> Also, this is the song used in the fic. It's one of my favourite songs and perfectly fits the atmosphere I was trying to create:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ljegvS94qE

_Every night, I dream you're still here.  
The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear.  
When I awake, you'll disappear,  
Back to the shadows  
With all I hold dear._

Light awoke with a violent gasp and his eyes, while prickling with tears he forced himself to hold back, glued to the empty side of the bed. His heart was beating too fast, his skin hot and tingling, his head spinning. Blood was pumping through his veins and making him dizzy, but Light relished every sensation. They haunted him every night, after all.

He ran his hands through his hair, his grip tight on the strands as he tried to control his breathing. The image of L collapsing to the ground haunted him more than any of the deaths he had ever caused. He hadn’t anticipated that. In the beginning of the era of the Death Note, Light had experienced violent nightmares on a regular basis. He had lost a significant amount of weight and sleep and had, on some days, even struggled to get along in school what was normally a child’s play to him. But these nightmares had been long gone. L’s death had made them arise again.

Light tore at his hair. Why?! Why L?! Why was he even hunting him in his death?!

He knew the answer. Because L would never give up, not even when he was dead. Light tried to steady his frantic heartbeat and breathing with minimal success. His hands fell into his lap when he tilted his head back. A small chuckle escaped his lips, his eyes a tear. It ran down the side of his face and trickled into his hair. “Forgive me for murdering you,” he whispered. “But you stood in the way of God. And I couldn’t allow that. You surely understand that, don’t you?”

Next him, he almost imagined that Ghost-L shook his head. Light looked at the side of the bed L had occupied during their time chained together. Why he hadn’t changed the room after everything? He didn’t know. Something kept him here.

“But it’s going to be the new world order, L,” Light tried again. “It will bring justice to everyone. Don’t you remember the bullies? I told them that I will bring them justice. I told one I would make death haunt him. I killed him. I killed him for you, L.”

“You threatened them,” Ghost-L answered. Was he going insane now? He felt everything slipping, but mostly L. “You didn’t promise me those things, Light-kun.”

Light snorted. “Oh please, just stop with the formalities. We were best friends, _brothers_ , at the age of 7, and fucked each other’s brain out not so long ago.”

“You know that you just imagine me, right? You make up the formalities, not I.”

“ _Of course_ , I know that,” Light hissed. He turned away, away from Ghost-L, away from the empty side of the bed, away from the ghosts haunting him. “Now, fuck off, I’m trying to sleep.”

L’s smile, L’s honest smile, the one that Light had only seen a few times but so often when they had been children, followed him into his nightmares. But L slipped away.

He wouldn’t miss him. 

_I will not miss him._

_Ever slightly out of reach.  
I dream you're still here,  
But it breaks so easily.  
I try to protect you,  
I can't let you fade.  
  
I feel you slipping.  
I feel you slipping away.  
  
Every night, I dream you're still here.  
The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear._


End file.
